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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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Richard J. Brennan
0 ?7 Y# H8 G/ q: P4 z, jNational Affairs Writer 2 j @" u u% @* V7 ~
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Immigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.; ~" ^/ f g8 w6 ?* I
" c( y0 b2 G4 y; i! l$ t" U* w“We are in the process of notifying them that we will be revoking their citizenship because Canadian citizenship is not for sale,” Kenney told the Economic Club of Canada.
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: d! y1 R9 F. u! {Kenney said some of the individuals are believed to have used “unscrupulous” immigration consultants who submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of people who did not meet the qualifications for citizenship.
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The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
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“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.
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( r: H6 ]& a3 ]. J2 YThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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: {) O. L! ~9 D* Z# a5 _Citizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.3 i1 y3 c, ~$ {: W' U$ h3 |8 o
% k0 N; }' R+ ?- h0 i& e/ f8 r( lMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.( ]6 O, u1 a* {6 b8 d# [
: Q4 @2 K' F, m, i, BSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.% p/ @1 ^; y' R" E' |7 @' C
2 |, F' L! x( c. W“For those who simply touch down and try to get a Canadian passport as a … passport of convenience, who don’t pay our taxes but who do consume our social benefits, I think that’s dishonourable,” he told reporters after delivering a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade.
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“There are many ways that we are combating immigration fraud and abuse of our generosity, whether it is from [bogus] asylum claimants, crooked immigration consultants, people smugglers [or] people who are abusing our citizenship program,” he said.% `3 ]* w% I) O
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Kenney also announced that Canada will soon be introducing multi-year visas for low-risk visitors from around the world that will last 10 years. |
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